compare president obama's lead over mitt romney right now. 6%. it's outside the margin of error. could president obama suffer a loss in the same way as president obama carter did despite the lead with more than a month to go, ed o'keefe? >> of course. that's why the only poll that matters is the one that's taken on election day when people actually vote. these polls are meant to serve as quick snapshots of how people were feeling at varying points in time. we use them because we're eager to understand how it is that the electorate is reacting to everything going on. five weeks remain. what is it, 37 days? anything can happen. it could be the debate on wednesday. it could be some other surprise on wednesday or here in the united states. everything could change. that's why it's important that everyone remember that these are just quick snapshots. we use them. it behooves journalists to make sure we don't rely on them too much to start drawing conclusions. >> we do love polls here. it gives us something to talk about. let me ask you this. i have a buddy who contends one of the effec